Cedar chest



'NOV. 1924. r I A. 1,514,344

cEpAR CHEST Filed pecfzl 1922 A 7TORIVEY8 Patented Nov. 4, 1924.

TE-S

EDWARD RODS, 0F RIVER FOREST, ILLINOIS.

CEDAR CHEST.

Application filed December 21, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD Boos, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of River Forest, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cedar Chests, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in cedar chests, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements here in described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a cedar chest of the character described in which means is provided for effectually pre venting the escape of the vapors emitted from the cedar walls of the chest so that the beneficial properties of the cedar may be preserved.

A further object of my invention is to provide acedar chest of the character described in which means is provided for precluding the admittance of dust or the like to the interior of the chest, and thereby causing harm to garments or delicate fabrics which ma be enclosed therein.

if; further object of my invention is to provide a cedar chest of the character described in which a slight warpage of the cover of the chest will not extinguish the capacity of the cover to closely engage with the side walls of the chest.

A further object of my invention is to provide a cedar chest of the character described in which the cover is removed from frictional engagement with the side walls of the chest, thereby obviating the necessity of a clasp or the like to hold the cover in position when closed.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the'novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved cedar chest with the cover opened,

Figure 2 is a sectional View along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, I

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view of part of the chest with the cover closed, and

Figure 4 is a sectional view along the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

In carrying out my invention, I make use of a chest 1 constructed of cedar wood,

Serial No. 608,295.

which wood is endowed with properties which make the wood extremely beneficial when used fora containing receptacle for fabrics in which it is not desired that moths shall enter. This type of chest is used a great deal for storing such fabrics from season to season. The chest 1 is provided with four side walls 2 which are closely engaged with one another at their intersecting corners 3 in such a manner that the contracting surfaces at the intersection 3 of the side walls has the form of a convoluted angular surface 4. The side walls 2 are supported upon a suitable supporting or bottom wall 5 which in turn is provided with supporting legs 6. The wall 5 is of course of cedar as also is the cover hereinafter described.

The top edges 7 of the side walls 2 are carefully finished so that these edges are in a single plane parallel with the wall 5.

The chest 1 i provided with a cover 8 hingedly mounted upon the rear wall of the chest by means of hinges 9. These'hinges are set in the cover on the rear wall of the chest 2 so that when the cover is closed, the inner surface of the cover is in close contact with the upper edge of the rear wall of the chest. The cover 8 consists in a relatively heavy top wall 10 having a perimeter slightly greater than the perimeter of the outer walls of the chest 2.

Three sides of the wall 10 are provided with relatively short depending side memhere 11. These members 11, as shown'in Figure 3, are finished so that the top wall 12 thereof is on a level with the top surface 13 of the wall 10 and contiguous therewith. The side members 11 extend from the rear edge of the member 10 entirely around three sides thereof to the opposite rear edge of the cover so that all but one side of the cover member .10 is encompassed by the side members 11. The side members 11 are provided with angular grooves 14 in their inner side walls, which grooves, are in a plane parallel with the cover member 10.

A felt packing strip 15 is disposed in the grooves 14 and arranged to project slightly therefrom so that when the cover is closed, the outer edges of the packing strip 15 will contact the outer wall 16 of the side walls 2. The strip 15 is preferably held against displacement in the groove 14 by means of glue or cement.

'From'the foregoing description of the va- I rious parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. My present invention provides a cedar chest in which the cover 8, when closed, effectively seals the chest 1 so that no dust may enter the chest and so that no vapor from the cedar Wood which is beneficial to the contents of the chest may escape. It will be apparent at once that if the cedar vapors are confined closely within the chest, that the beneficial properties of the wood will be well preserved and the usefulness of the chest prolonged.

With my improved chest it is not necessary to clasp the cover 8 when closed to prevent the cover from springing out of close engagement with the chest as is the case in the ordinary type of chest, since the cover 8 by virtue of the packing strip 14 has frictional engagement with the side walls of the chest and this frictional engagement, which serves as a seal for the cover, also prevents the cover from accidental springing out of engagement with the side walls.

It is well known in the art that the cover of a cedar chest may warp slightly. This is principally due to the fact that the outer surface of the cover in the ordinary type of chest is coated with a varnish or some finish which eifectually prevents the absorption of moisture to the cover on that surface. The inner surface, however, is not finished and may absorb moisture. Such a condition in many cases causes the cover to warp, where the side walls 2 will not Warp, due to the fact that they are pressed one against the other by their engagement with one another at the intersecting corners of the chest.

Let us assume that in the case of my present invention the cover should warp slightly. If this fact be true, no harm will be done, since the cover will still effectually seal the chest, through the position of the strip 15 relative tothe top edge 7 of the side walls 2 may be varied slightly due to the warping of the cover. When the cover is returned to its normal condition, the user of the chest will have lost none of the usefulness thereof during the time that the cover was warped, where in the case of the or.- dinary chest, the chest is not sealed during the time that the cover is warped.

I.claim:

The combination with a cedar chest having a cover provided with depending portions at 'the periphery thereof arranged to encompass the side walls of said chest at their upper edges, said depending portions having recesses in their inner side walls, a strip of fibrous packing material carried on the inner wall of saiddepending portions and partially disposed in said recesses, whereby said strip may closely contact the side Walls of said chest when said cover is closed.

EDWARD ROOS. 

